Energized and enthusiastic,Truth Seeker publisher Bonnie Lange greets the day with an open mind and boundless energy. Ever aware of the incredible historical precedent set by previous publishers, she seeks to regain Truth Seeker's banner from the late 1800s as a leading- edge influence, by disseminating new ideas that free the mind from the shackles of coercion.

Bonnie became President of Truth Seeker Company in 1988, following the death of James Hervey Johnson.

"I have tried to bring to the journal my philosophy of the right of the individual over the collective social structure," Bonnie stated in a recent interview. "My thrust has been to help people realize their own strengths and to promote their supreme place in society. Truth Seeker's mission since I became publisher has been to teach the concept that the individual has all the rights, and the social structure has only the right to protect the life and property of each and every individual within the structure.

"Since 1776, the battle in the United States has been between the individual as a sovereign, soul searching entity and the elite group who rule the people as a collectivistic unit. They call us the masses. Since the 1930s, our position as individuals acting in our own best interests in society has been overwhelmed by our own political structure, which has told us that we as individuals cannot take care of ourselves. This elite group has set themselves up as our caretakers."

Bonnie says her philosophy has grown out of the many years she spent as a student and business associate of Andrew J. and Suzanne J. Galambos and the Free Enterprise Institute.

"From Galambos I learned the importance of ideas and promoting them in the marketplace, and the concept that you have the right to do whatever you want as long as you are not interfering with the rights of another individual. The Free Enterprise Institute promotes Galambos' ideas, which have to do with building a social structure where coercion is not the framework. This would be a social structure built on contract instead of force or fraud."

From Galambos, Bonnie sees a natural connection to the beliefs and ideas of Truth Seeker's founding publisher, D.M. Bennett, and the writings of Thomas Paine and Robert G. Ingersoll. "The great orator of the late 19th century, Robert Ingersoll, espoused liberty for each man, woman and child. But we don't have liberty of man, woman or child today. We're still discussing the subject 100 years later. If anything, things have gotten worse."

Since a fire destroyed the Truth Seeker Company's library and archives in 1981, a lot of the history of the Truth Seeker was lost. Luckily, copies of the early editions were preserved at the Library of Congress, and other publications to add to a freethought library have been obtained from various sources. Several books published by the Truth Seeker Company have been located, and some have been republished.

Research through the Internet revealed that an earlier publication, The Boston Investigator, which began publishing in 1831, was merged with The Truth Seeker in 1904. Rod Bradford wrote an article about it, included in this issue. "Rod is researching and writing a biography to commemorate the work of D.M. Bennett. We will be publishing it in 1998, the 125th anniversary of the Truth Seeker," Bonnie explained.

The year 1996 has brought a major change to the Truth Seeker Company. Lawrence Y. True, the trustee for the James Hervey Johnson Charitable Educational Trust, died on May 14. (Truth Seeker Company is partially funded by a separate trust that was set up after the death of Mr. Johnson.) Mr. True was succeeded by Kevin Munnelly and Bonnie as co-trustees; they are both dedicated to increasing the assets of the charitable trust through good investments as well as seeking additional endowments.

Bonnie stated, "My relationship with James Hervey Johnson started when I visited his book store in 1970. Over the years we became close friends as we shared a similar ideology. Both of us were great admirers of Thomas Paine and Robert Green Ingersoll. Each year I would put on two events commemorating their birthdays for the Freethinkers Society of San Diego, an organization Mr. Johnson founded in 1961. I served as the corporate secretary for the Freethinkers Society and the Truth Seeker Co., Inc. until Mr. Johnson's death in 1988.

"I'm happy to say that the Freethinkers Society is now in the capable hands of Sam Warren and Alan Mandelberg, who were instrumental in establishing the Thomas Paine Coffeehouse as an outreach program in San Diego to educate our community about the Freethought philosophy. In this issue are photos of the Grand Opening of the Thomas Paine Coffeehouse on September 21st with Steve Allen as an honored guest. Nothing would please Mr. Johnson more than to see and attend this meeting place."

As co-trustee, Bonnie wants to make sure that the freethought community gets funded for major projects that affect mainstream thinking around the world. The JHJ Charitable Educational Trust is now accepting applications from qualified 501 (c) (3) organizations. Projects will be funded which are in alignment with Mr. Johnson's wishes, as stated in his will: "To expose religion as against reason and to publicize my views on religion and health."

Meanwhile, the person at the helm presses on, with a ready smile and wit and the wink of an eye that belies her serious purpose: "As the person at the head of the Truth Seeker Company it is my strong conviction that all good starts from the individual point of view. And it is our job to empower ourselves to become self-sufficient, self-reliant and responsible. Education is of the utmost importance. An educational system is necessary that can teach these concepts and what's more, we need a social structure which recognizes and honors them. A big task, but I know we can do it as a species. Look at what we've achieved so far under the worst of conditions

"A wonderful quote that I learned from Galambos says it well: 'Improve yourself and teach by example.' "

Eric T. Richter, a writer and editor, is owner of California Promotions, a public relations firm specializing in the field of complementary medicine.